Joy of Sake festival offers unlimited tasting of Japanese rice wines, many not sold in U.S.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The nation’s largest annual sake festival returns to the Hawaii Convention Center this October with nearly 500 varieties in peak condition available for tasting, paired with traditional and contemporary appetizers by some of Hawaii’s top chefs.

Tassho Pearce, Sake Specialist with World Sake Imports, and Chef Andrew Stone, owner of Toro Honolulu, joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about the popular Joy of Sake festival now in its 23rd iteration.

The event showcases the diversity of brewing styles and flavor profiles of Japanese rice wine, made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran.

Bottles are set out on tables, and guests use pipettes to transfer about ten milliliters to their personal cups for unlimited tastings. Many sakes at the event are not sold in the United States.

“While perfect for sake connoisseurs, it equally welcomes newcomers eager to explore unlimited tastings for the very first time,” Pearce said. “Attendees will have the opportunity to sample entries from the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, an annual blind tasting competition judged by experts from both Japan and the United States, held right here in Honolulu. The featured selection includes premium daiginjo, junmai, and ginjo varieties, shipped directly from Japanese breweries.”

Stone is one of 18 participating chefs and restaurants. This will be his first appearance at the festival. He showcased his spicy ahi on crispy rice from his menu at Toro, an upscale eatery specializing in sushi and Japanese cuisine, with an omakase menu.

The event is on October 10 from 6:30-9 p.m. with tickets on sale now at joyofsake.com.

Follow @joyofsake on Instagram for updates.

Toro Honolulu is located at 1130 N. Nimitz Hwy.